My quote of the day comes from an ABC News blogpost about John McCain and the SEC:
The White House said this week it wants to stay out of politics…
Ya, rly.
US politics
“My name is Jose Luis Zapatero, you have insulted my fatherland, prepare to die!”
Septuagenarian John McCain proves yet again he’s lost the plot, in the process mortally insulting a NATO ally whose troops are currently fighting his country’s war in Afghanistan.
Really, he’s not well. And that’s being charitable.
It Wasn’t Just Me Then
Well obviously not, I’m hardly the only person listening to Radio 4 this morning or who watched Governor Palin’s first full-on TV interview last night – but leaving my own solipsism aside and concentrating on hers, one thing she said really jumped out at me from the radio.
It struck Scarecrow of Firedoglake too:
Sarah Palin’s most revealing response to Charles Gibson was her unqualified statement that she never had the slightest doubt about her readiness to be President. The woman doesn’t even know enough to know she doesn’t know enough.
Exactly. If I had to pick one thing I’ve learned about the world as I’ve got older it’s how much there is I don’t know and how much more there always is to know. If I had to pick one thing I’ve learned about myself it’s that real confidence comes when you can admit your limitations.
Palin’s rockribbed, solid, arrogant certainty is deeply scary. Anyone, no matter how wise, intelligent, distinguished or accomplished, no matter how confident of their own abilities, would feel unqualified and quail inwardly when offered one of the world’s highest political positions totally out of the blue. The truly wise wouldn’t be scared to admit it either.
Palin has no earthly conception of the depths of the potential responsibility inherent in the post of VP. Or perhaps she does (though she’s not shown it so far) and is inwardly scared shitless because of her own inadequacy. That may make her feel she has to out-macho the men. I don’t know, I’m not her bloody analyst – but I care because a President Palin could kill us all.
Someone on tv last night (on Mock The Week to be precise, so take it with the seriousness it deserves) pointed out that McCain has, according to actuaries, a one in three chance of dying in office. If he does pop off she could have the big red button and wipe out anyone she liked, whenever she liked – uppity librarians or community organisers, annoying dictators – whole continents even!
Anyone who’s not a complete sociopath would at least think twice. But no, no doubts, none. All that counts is winning. What comes after – feh, what does that matter? She’ll have finally won the biggest beauty pageant of ’em all.
Caribou Barbie Goes Upmarket
The Guardian: Sarah Palin is to pose has done a photoshoot for Vogue.
I didn’t think Prada bags came in Moose.
UPDATE: Still not sure if they do, but it
UPDATE II
Talk about damned with faint praise: “Bush says there’s nothing stopping Palin from serving well”
This Is How They Do It
Lost everything in the recession? Foreclosed? Homeless? Well, now you’ve lost your vote too – Republican ratfuckery in Michigan, from the Michigan Messenger via the estimable Attaturk:
The chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County, Mich., a key swing county in a key swing state, is planning to use a list of foreclosed homes to block people from voting in the coming election as part of the state GOP’s effort to challenge some voters on Election Day.
“We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren’t voting from those addresses,” party chairman James Carabelli told Michigan Messenger in a telephone interview earlier this week. He said the local party wanted to make sure that proper electoral procedures were followed…
Carabelli is not the only Republican Party official to suggest the targeting of foreclosed voters. In Ohio, Doug Preisse, director of elections in Franklin County (around the city of Columbus) and the chair of the local GOP, told the Columbus Dispatch that he has not ruled out challenging voters before the election due to foreclosure-related address issues.
Now, why ever might they want to do that?
The Macomb County party’s plans to challenge voters who have defaulted on their house payments is likely to disproportionately affect African-Americans who are overwhelmingly Democratic voters.
There you go.
But of course being Republicans there’s always a particularly vicious and venal little twist:
…the McCain campaign’s Michigan headquarters is located in the office buildiing of Trott & Trott, a law firm that specialized in foreclosures, whose founder is a major Republican fund-raiser.
The dirty tricks have barely begun.